Everclear not burning clean

[James Marco]

Most manufacturers in the US use methanol. Some of the foreign brands include octane or other such hydrocarbons as a “denaturing” agent. Note, that the sale for consumption of ethanol from an industrial source is illegal since there are traces of petroleum products in it. Generally, most of these burn yellow…

[Lisa B]

I appreciate this thread.

I’m about to switch to everclear in my alcohol stove.  I’ll be driving through a few states soon that are allowed to sell it.  Which would you recommend for a cleaner burn?  151 or 190 with a little water.  If 151 works great I’ll just get that without any fuss.

On a related question, how do I remove soot now from my evernew titanium from an isopropol test?  I’ve scrubbed but it doesn’t budge.

[James Marco]

Lisa, I always get the 190. I use it on quick overnights and don’t have any problems. I suppose, that if I did, I could always add a few drops of water. But, it is certainly possible to add too much water and waste fuel…once it gets down to a certain percentage it will just sit as a fuel/water mixture and not burn…though I guess you could always get the heat out by drinking the 190+water.

Ti will effect certain chemical changes (usually with N-nitrogen, NO2 and/or oxygen) that will cause discoloring. The discoloring is a form of surface oxidation (anodizing when done intentionally.) Ti is often white or blue and is fairly easy to dye/paint. Titanium white is good color for paints among other uses. If some of the carbon (soot) gets embedded in the surface of the oxidation, it might be very difficult to clean. The surface oxidation is harder than the substrate metal. Just keep scrubbing. Note that light carborundum/carbide granules in 1000grit sandpaper (usually sold at Walmart in the automotive isle) will clean this off quickly. It is harder than steel wool and most scrubbies, it cuts the entire oxide layer off. With Ti or Al, a new oxide layer will form almost immediately, so it helps to use a wet/dry grade to clean while under a light drip from a faucet.

[Lisa B]

I appreciate your response.  Thank you!

[Chris R]

I’ve used wire wool to clean soot/carbon from pots. I’ve also found the copper pan scrubbers to be pretty effective.

[Lisa B]

Cool, thanks!

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